DONALD AND RUDY CAN'T SAVE THEM ANYMORE:

A comedian with a popular TV show but no prior political experience, Zelenskiy -- now 43 -- won the 2019 presidential election by a large margin, riding a surge of support based in part on his pledges to stand up to the handful of tycoons who have wielded outsized influence over Ukraine's economy, government, and media over much of its 30 years as an independent country.

In office, he has made taming the tycoons -- or "deoligarchization," as his administration calls it -- the cornerstone of his presidency.

"If Zelenskiy wins this confrontation, it will be much easier for him to run for a second term" in 2024, Yevhen Mahda, director of the Kyiv-based Institute of World Politics, told RFE/RL.

The "oligarchs" enjoy little sympathy among the millions of Ukrainians facing poverty or stark economic challenges, many of whom believe the magnates accumulated their wealth at the expense of the state.

Ukrainians demonstrate in front of the Communist Party's Central Committee headquarters in Kyiv on August 25, 1991.

But analysts say they have been able to maintain sway through several changes of government since the 1991 Soviet collapse -- including two that followed massive popular protests against corruption, among other things -- in part by bankrolling officials and lawmakers.

Akhmetov, 56, is the biggest in terms of revenue from businesses ranging from metals, mining, and energy to banking, telecommunications, real estate, and the media -- a portfolio whose size and breadth means almost any law or regulation is likely to impact his interests.

While he is dogged by rumors of alleged criminal activity in amassing his assets -- for which he reportedly had been denied entry to the United States -- the tycoon has never been charged with any crime. He denies any wrongdoing.

With a net worth estimated by Forbes at more than $7 billion, Akhmetov is richer than the next three Ukrainian tycoons combined. He is also the country's largest taxpayer and employer, with about 200,000 workers nationwide.

That gives him enormous power to lobby at all levels of government for policies favorable to his companies, such as low tariffs on ore transportation and high tariffs for power, analysts and business executives say.

Akhmetov -- who briefly served in parliament in the 2000s, representing the Russia-leaning Party of Regions, which disbanded after the Euromaidan protests that pushed Moscow-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych from power -- can turn to dozens of lawmakers in the Verkhovna Rada for support in getting policies that favor him enacted, according to Ukrainian media. The magnate has denied he has "control" over any deputies.

However, Zelenskiy has an advantage over his predecessors in dealing with lobbying from tycoons: The seventh person to serve as president since independence, he is the first to control a majority in the Rada.

That means that at least in some cases, he can push legislation through without needing the support of lawmakers who may be loyal to a particular tycoon.

Anti-Oligarch Law

But the billionaires' control over several major TV stations has been a potential weak spot for Zelenskiy -- and he is now seeking to end that vulnerability, putting him on a collision course with tycoons including Akhmetov.

In June, Zelenskiy introduced a controversial bill that legally defined the term "oligarch" based on several criteria, including wealth, industry dominance, political activity, and influence over media assets.

Anyone meeting certain benchmarks in three of those areas is to be labeled an "oligarch" and barred from participating in both political activity -- such as financing parties -- and state asset sales.

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